Drug Take-Back Event In Cornelius Set For Oct. 26

CORNELIUS, NC — Lake Norman area residents who want to safely dispose of old or near-empty bottles of prescription medication will soon have an opportunity to do just that. Cornelius Police Department is hosting "Operation Medicine Drop" on Saturday, Oct. 26 at police headquarters from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Here's what CPD says about the event:

• Bring medication for disposal to the CPD side parking lot located at 21440 Catawba Ave, on the side closest to DecorLUXE furniture store.
• The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
• No needles or liquid medicines will be accepted.

Last October, 81 law enforcement agencies in North Carolina participated in take-back events, collecting about 30,000 pounds of drugs from around the state, according to the DEA.

Included in the haul are ever-higher amounts of opioids, the DEA said. Though prescribed for pain management, these highly addictive drugs can be stolen and abused by family members and visitors, including children and teens.

In 2016, opioids were involved in 42,249 overdose deaths, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016, the latest year for which statistics are available, than they were in 1999.

The majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet, the DEA said.

Other methods of disposal — throwing unused drugs out with the trash or flushing them down the toilet — can cause environmental damage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

But it's not just opioids that pose dangers. Expired prescription drugs can be less effective or risky due to changes over time in chemical composition. Some expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Expired antibiotics may not treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance, the DEA said.
The drugs must have been prescribed to a member of your household. Illegal drugs can't be disposed of during the events, nor can syringes and needles. More information is available here.

Patch Editor Beth Dalbey contributed